This invention relates to a method for sterilizing a woman. More particularly, this invention relates to a method for closing or sealing a Fallopian tube. This invention also relates to an associated device for use in the method.
A common method for female sterilization is a tubal ligation. Conventionally, this operation was performed in the operating room, as open surgery. Lately, it has become possible to tie or clip a Fallopian tube in a laparoscopic surgical procedure. Laparoscopy involves the piercing of the abdominal wall with a trocar and the insertion of a tubular port member called a "trocar sleeve" or "laparoscopic cannula" through the perforation. A laparoscopic instrument for applying a surgical clip to the Fallopian tube is inserted through the trocar sleeve.
Generally, upon the disposition of the first trocar sleeve so that it traverses the abdominal wall, the abdominal cavity is pressurized to distend the abdominal wall and provide a safety region between the wall and the body organs inside the cavity. Moreover, several perforations are made. One perforation receives a laparoscope which enables visual monitoring of organs and surgical activities inside the abdominal cavity. Other perforations serve for the insertion of different surgical instruments.
Laparoscopic surgery provides several advantages over conventional incision-based surgery. The laparoscopic perforations, in being substantially smaller than the incisions made during conventional operations, are less traumatic to the patient and provide for an accelerated recovery and convalescence. Hospital stays are minimized. Concomitantly, laparoscopic surgery is less time consuming and less expensive than conventional surgery for correcting the same problems.
The problem with laparoscopic surgery is that it must still be performed in the hospital. It cannot be performed in doctors' offices as flexible endoscopic procedures. Moreover, in comparison, for example, with gastrointestinal endoscopy, the patient still experiences substantial trauma, and the convalescence and hospitalization costs can be great.